Violinists hone their passion with Studio 451

Lauren Blair in her element with her violin. Photo courtesy of Lauren Blair

At 5 years old, she knew she wanted to play the violin. She was persistent for an entire year, begging and praying that her parents would come around. In a family where she and her sisters were required to play the piano, she would be heading into uncharted territory. With her parents unfamiliar with the instrument, she continued to push for the chance to play the violin.

Her vying finally paid off and she received a violin for Christmas.

That was just the beginning for violin performance and music education freshman Lauren Blair.

Similarly, violin professor Katherine McLin recalls how she came to play the violin at 6 years old. She too had to beg her mother for the chance to play the instrument. With the desire to be like her older sister, she persisted and her mother allowed her to play as well.

Unlike McLin and Blair, music therapy senior Victoria Gilman was asked by her mother if she wanted to play the violin in an effort to diminish potential boredom at school. Thus, she accepted the challenge and began playing at 5 years old.

“Music’s always been a really big part of my life and something that I’ve been really passionate about and really put a lot of myself into,” Gilman says.

McLin teaches Blair and Gilman in her Studio 451 class offered at ASU.

The class consists of one-hour individual lessons for each student every week, according to McLin.

“Every student is different and I think part of the challenge of teaching and ultimately the great reward of teaching is figuring out how best to unlock that particular person’s potential,” McLin says.

McLin gets the opportunity to know her students on a more personal level with these individual lessons.

“I think she’s really good at understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each player and helping us grow from where we are and not in a way that makes us feel like we’re the worst ever,” Blair says.

According to McLin, “much of the study of music is mental.”

“I guess the easiest way to put it is helping a student remove any barriers or limitations that they’re putting on themselves, which we’re very very apt to do,” McLin says. “If I can remove those for a student they will develop and progress much faster.”